Centricity - The state or quality of being centric; centricalness.
Centrisity - The state or quality of not being bound to an ideology. Freedom of thought.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

True Colors

If anything, the reaction to the Filibuster flame out has created an alignment that is defining individuals political ideology more specifically then we have recently seen.

Hard Lefties and Righties are denouncing the deal as a failure of the respective leaderships. They're calling their own Senators, who participated in the deal, turncoats and/or RINO/DINOs. Those of use in the middle, the left and right leaners, moderates if you will, are content with the preservation of minority rights, Senatorial rules, and constitutional control.

On the Right we have Mitch, who's first gut instinct prompted a 'You Suck' post directed at Frist. After sleeping on it, he hasn't changed his tone. Captain Ed is so ticked he continues to promote his "Not One Dime for the NRSC" campaign.

This is not a good deal for the U.S. Senate or for the American people. Democrats should have stood together firmly against the bullying tactics of the Republican leadership abusing their power as they control both houses of Congress and the White House. Confirming unacceptable judicial nominations is simply a green light for the Bush administration to send more nominees who lack the judicial temperament or record to serve in these lifetime positions.

And from the Middle, Jeff has a nice capsule laying out the winners and losers:

So who are the winners and losers in this thing? Well, the members of the Democratic caucus are the big winners. Yes, it would've been fun to force Frist into ignominious defeat, but this comes pretty damn close. And while I've never thought Frist held very good cards in this one, it's impossible to believe the GOP would've gone ahead with this deal if there were, say, 51 solid and certain votes for the nuclear option.

Other winners? Centrists--God bless 'em. Now that they've worked together on this, maybe, just maybe, they'll start to work on softening the tone in Washington. And the American people win, because it would've been terrible to see the Senate turned into a pale imitation of the House.

Losers? Frist. And how. Hindrocket is furious, and I expect that will be the general consensus on the right. Frist had, theoretically, 55 + 1 votes for the nuke; that he couldn't keep those 55 + 1 together on this indicates that Frist is, indeed, the marginal leader we on the left have come to love. This has to effectively kill any chance Frist had for 2008; the right wing wanted victory here, and denied that, they will turn on him with a vengeance.

I have been following this debate with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there is no question that Bush's judicial picks are way more conservative than I would like; I would expect nothing else from this administration. And as a matter of abstract principle, I have no philosophical problem per se with appointing judges who are are originalist in their interpretation of the Constitution, and less inclined to citing international law as a basis for decisions in constitutional matters, which I see as a worrisome trend.

But practically speaking, a Bush-appointed judiciary will tend to reinforce the conservative social agenda, which seeks to poke holes in the wall of church/state separation in the name of "moral values". It will be more inclined to rule in favor of state and federal constitutional amendments that permanently relegate gay people to second-class citizenship. And since this is really just the warm-up for the Supreme Court nominations to come, liberals rightfully are fearful of a coming assault on Roe vs. Wade.

So if you are one who wanted to know how wingy (or batty) your favorites blogs were, or if they were more leaners then Kool-aid drinkers, this is the issue you can use to test them. If the hate the deal, they are outside of the middle, if they are at least content with the actions of the Fantastic 14, they are as moderate as they claim.

Of course, I can't let this recap endm without directing you to the local Snark. A taster:

Top 11 Things the Republicans Get in Exchange for Surrendering on Judges11. Democrats agree not to compare Bush to Hitler except in extraordinary circumstances.10. John McCain gets a better parking spot.9. Democrats agree not to filibuster Lawrence Tribe should Bush appoint him Chief Justice.8. Hillary will be allowed to choose only one in ten judges.

Read the rest.

I'm just thankful we can move on and try to get something done other then this perpetual 'King of the Hill' game.